IFOAM EU Group is the EU working level of IFOAM – the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. IFOAM’s goal is the worldwide adoption of ecologically, socially and economically sound systems that are based on the principles of Organic Agriculture. IFOAM EU Group is a non-profit membership-based organisation that brings together more than 300 organisations, associations and enterprises. It represents the organic movement in Europe and promotes the further development of organic food and farming.
IFOAM EU GROUP publishes position paper on organic poultry production and rearing
Brussels, 05/08/2010 - The IFOAM EU Group launches its position paper in order to provide input to the revision of the EU organic regulation.
"The organic sector is generally selling itself for less than what it is worth" – interview with the designer of the new EU logo for organic produce
Brussels, 30/07/2010 - Dusan Milenkovic, 31, is the winner of the EU-wide competition for creating a new EU logo for organic products. 63% of the 130.000 voters chose his 'euro-leaf'. In an interview with IFOAM EU, he tells us about the creation process, his connection to the organic sector, and his recommendations for the public presentation of the organic movement. Read the whole interview here.IFOAM EU Group meets with Commissioner Ciolos
Brussels, 26/07/2010 - A delegation of the IFOAM EU Group met with the Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos on July 26. IFOAM EU used the opportunity to present itself and to discuss important issues at stake: on the one hand, IFOAM followed up on the European Commission CAP conference on July 19-20 in Brussels and underlined that organic production deserves to play an important role in its future shape. On the other hand, IFOAM EU handed over its new strategy paper "Shaping Agriculture and Food Systems to Future Challenges" outlining the strategic role of organic food and farming.
MOAN meeting report published
Brussels, 22/07/2010 - The report of the 5th meeting of the Mediterranean Organic Agriculture NEtwork (MOAN) has been published.
The network was established in 1999 by the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (MAIB), with the objective of furthering organic agriculture in the Mediterranean countries. MOAN consists of representatives from universities, research institutes, private associations and Ministries of Agriculture from Albania, Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Italy.
Organic farming can deliver best solutions to meet public demands
Brussels, 19/07/2010 - The European Commission today opened a two-day conference to debate the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and to discuss the results of the related public consultation. These results clearly show that the public gives high priority to sustainable resource use, supply of healthy food and the maintenance of diverse farming systems throughout the EU. System approaches, such as organic farming, can deliver the best solutions to meet these demands.
Brussels, 13/07/2010 – Today the Commission published a proposal that gives member states more possibilities to ban GMO cultivation on their territory – but clearly this is an attempt of the Barroso Commission to persuade member states to facilitate and accept GMO authorisations.
“Whereas some work has been done to improve the texts in the last weeks, these proposals are no adequate response to the contamination problems the European food sector is already facing today,” comments Christopher Stopes, President of the IFOAM EU Group.
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Member States must reject all attempts to loosen GMO approvals
Rome, 22/06/2010 – “GMO-free farmers, processors and consumers in all EU Member States need the guaranteed right for GMO-free food and farming. A new possibility for Member States to ban GMOs under certain conditions can only be a bluff package if it comes with the attempt to persuade Member States to vote in favour of GMOs in approval procedures,” comments Christopher Stopes, President of the IFOAM EU Group, on a leaked draft Communicationof the EU Commission.
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EU Regulation for Organic Food and Farming: able to deliver solutions to meet future challenges
Rome 21/06/2010 – The 4th European Organic Congress in Rome, organised by IFOAM EU and IAMB, provided the first opportunity for the organic movement to evaluate and discuss the new EU Organic Regulation since it came into force on 1st of January 2009.
More 4th European Organic Congress gains interna-tional interest for organic regulatory issues
Brussels 18/06/2010 – It is said that all roads lead to Rome, and on Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd that will be true for the European organic sector which will meet in the Italian capital for the 4th European Organic Congress.
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Draft proposal for organic wine withdrawn by the European Commission
Brussels, 16/06/2010 - The European Commission withdraws its draft proposal for regulating organic wine making at the EU level. A compromise between the member states and the Commission could not be achieved. The IFOAM EU Group regrets the missed chance to finalise the organic wine making rules. The European Commission may come back to the organic wine making rules in future.
More IFOAM EU Group Press Release The future of food production - urgent challenges need sustainable solutions Green New Deal is urgently needed to shape Food Chains to meet future challenges – organic offers best practice examples
Brussels, 07/06/2010 – The 3rd European Organic Congress in Madrid today discusses the future of agricultural policies regarding their potential to contribute to the tackle on urgent challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and the economic crisis. On this occasion, the IFOAM EU Group pre-launched the summary of its comprehensive paper Shaping Agriculture and Food Systems to Future Challenges – The Strategic Role of Organic Food and Farming.
More Summary_StrategicRole of OA - English Sumario_PapelEstrategico AE - Spanish
EU institutions to serve organic: Initiative of IFOAM EU, Biofresh and BioForum calls for more organic procurement
Brussels, 01/06/2010 - EU institution canteens will offer a daily organic dish along with organic desserts and fruits during the European Commission’s Green Week in Brussels and the Belgian Bio Week. The offer is the result of a targeted cooperation between the IFOAM EU Group, BioForum and Biofresh.
More Organic faming and biodiversity - IFOAM EU at Green Week 2010
Brussels, 1/06/2010 - IFOAM EU Group joins the GREEN WEEK exhibition - stand no. 3 at the ground floor of the Charlemagne building, June 1-4.
The IFOAM EU Group invites to its stand all interested to discover about organic food and farming, its contribution to biodiversity (this year's topic of Green Week) and the European policies in these areas.
More CAP post-2013: smart change or business as usual? IFOAM EU Group invites to a public seminar in the European Parliament on June 9 to discuss the new CAP
Brussels, 27/05/2010 – The IFOAM EU Group calls for a fundamental reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU. A new set of strategic principles should guide the reform towards sustainability, fairness and high-quality food for all throughout all CAP measures.
The IFOAM EU Group is going to discuss these proposals with Members of the European Parliament and with representatives of other NGOs in a publuc seminar at the European Parliament on June 9th.
More Green New Deal for sustainability to be negotiated in Madrid
Agriculture policies and the role of the food sector in meeting global challenges will be discussed by EU officials and organic stakeholders at the IFOAM EU’s Madrid congress “Green New Deal for Sustainable Food Chains”
Brussels, 04/05/2010 – The 3rd European Organic Congress in Madrid on 7th June will provide a platform to discuss the future of agricultural policies regarding their potential to contribute to facing pressing challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and the economic crisis.
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4th European Organic Congress: the future for regulating organic food and farming in Europe Congress program announced – register now to secure participation!
Brussels, 29/04/2010 – The program for the 4th European Organic Congress, which will take place in Rome on June 21 and 22, is now available online. The content-packed program features a number of high-level speakers from the EU institutions, representatives of national ministries as well as a broad representation of the European organic sector, who come together to evaluate the first year and a half of the new Organic Regulation and discuss new elements and future development of the regulation.
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Cioloş’ Cabinet member to discuss agriculture policies with the organic sector
The congress “Green New Deal for Sustainable Food Chains” provides a platform for discussions between organic sector and high-level policy makers
Brussels, 28/04/2010 – The opening panel of the 3rd European Organic Congress to take place in Madrid on 7th of June will provide an opportunity to discuss the future of agricultural policies regarding their potential to contribute to the tackle on urgent challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and the economic crisis.
More IFOAM EU Group launches study on the economics of GMO-free seed
Brussels, 26/04/2010 - The IFOAM EU Group launched today in the European Parliament a study on the "Economic impacts of labelling thresholds for the adventitious presence of genetically engineered organisms in conventional and organic seed"."GMO-free seed is crucial to enable the food chain to maintain the production of GMO-free food and feed", explains Christoph Then, author of the study.
Read More GMO-free Seed Study
4th European Organic Congress, Rome: the future of regulating organic food and farming in Europe
Brussels, 23/04/2010 – Registration is now open for the 4th European Organic Congress in Rome (June 21-22, 2010) - an initiative undertaken by the IFOAM EU Group in conjunction with IAMB in the frame of the InterBio project.
IFOAM EU Group launches study on economics of GMO-free seed on 26 April in the European Parliament
Brussels, 22/04/2010– The freedom of choice to grow and produce GMO-free food and feed starts with seed. To contribute to the discussion on the quality of seed and to highlight the economic consequences different labelling thresholds for seed would have, the IFOAM EU Group invites you to the launch of the study “Economic impacts of labelling thresholds for the adventitious presence of genetically engineered organisms in conventional and organic seed” on26 April 2010 at 14 h in Room PHS 7 C 050 of the European Parliament.
ORGANIC DAY - The potential of organic agriculture for climate change mitigation
Brussels, 20/04/2010 -Organic agriculture bears a high potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Future food supply in times of climate change and increasing energy prices will depend on efficient resource use. Sustainable food security requires changes in food consumption patterns. These were the main conclusions of the lively debate between panel and auditorium on the Organic Day in the European Commission’s Directorate General for the Environment on 20 April 2010.
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Finally the EU Organic logo is here but resources are needed to raise consumer awareness
Brussels, 31/03/2010 - The IFOAM EU Group acknowledges the new organic production logo of the EU – the stylised leaf made of EU stars on a green background introduced by the Commission Regulation (EU) No 271/2010 published today in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Malta declaration: IFOAM EU Group calls for a moratorium on the cultivation of GMO
Representatives of the organic food sector from 27 member states call on the European Commission to ensure the maintenance of GMO free farming
Malta, 22/03/2010 – The IFOAM EU Group held its board meeting on 18 and 19 March in Malta, the home country of the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer affairs, John Dalli, who is in charge of ruling on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in Europe.
The IFOAM EU Group called on Commissioner Dalli to commit himself to a GMO moratorium.
'European food declaration': towards a healthy, sustainable, fair and mutually supportive Common Agriculture and Food policy
Brussels, 16/03/2010 – March 16 – On the eve of a European Parliament hearing which will debate the future of Europe’s agriculture policy a broad alliance of European, national and local civil society organisations concerned with the future of food and agriculture in Europe, are today launching a ‘European food declaration’ to mobilise European citizens and authorities to reshape the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).
See press release in EN and FR
Keep GM potato out of our soup!
Brussels, 02/03/2010– The IFOAM EU Group strongly criticizes today’s decision by the EU Commission to authorise commercial cultivation of the GM potato Amflora (owned by BASF) in the European Union. Notwithstanding protests from civil society, the new Barroso Commission has hereby approved the first GM plant for cultivation since 1998!
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IFOAM EU Group launched Organic Aquaculture Dossier to facilitate the adoption of the new rules
Nuremberg, 18/02/2010 - The IFOAM EU Group, in cooperation with The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, launched today a Dossier on the EU Organic Aquaculture Legislation. The publication - "Organic Aquaculture - EU Regulations (EC) 834/2007, (EC) 889/2008, (EC) 710/2009: BACKGROUND, ASSESSMENT, INTERPRETATION" – was presented during BioFach in Nuremberg.
The 3rd European Organic Congress of IFOAM EU will be split in a policy part and a regulation part, to take place in Rome and Madrid in May and June 2010
Brussels, 16/02/2010 – The IFOAM EU Group invites the organic sector twice to a European Organic Congress in 2010. The congress will be in two parts to deal with two issues of urgent importance for the organic sector: the first congress will discuss the potential of the organic movement to contribute to a new green deal for a sustainable European economy; the second one will evaluate the first year of the new Organic Regulation in place and give space for an outlook on further pieces to be added to the regulation.
Lisbon treaty – what changes in policies related to agriculture?
Brussels, 15/02/10 - The Treaty of Lisbon is the legal groundwork of the European Union since 1 December 2009, it succeeds the Treaty of Nice (2001). What does this mean for agriculture?
Brussels, 09/02/10 -The new European Commission has been appointed today by the European Parliament and will take office on Wednesday. The IFOAM EU Group congratulates the new Commissioners on their appointment but highlights the tremendous challenges they have to face.
More IFOAM EU reaction: Announcement of new EU logo for organic products
Brussels, 08/02/10 - The IFOAM EU Group notes the result of the logo competition announced today by the Commission. The sector is eased that the only option considered by the sector to be realistically operable was announced as the winning logo. However, it lays on the Commission to ensure that the logo meets minimum requirements for graphical communication and that the sector is provided with clear rules in time for the usage of the logo.
Brussels 08/02/2010 - The European Commission today officially announced the winner of the EU organic logo competition. Over the past two months, some 130,000 people have voted online to choose the new organic symbol from three finalists. The winning design is by Dusan Milenkovic, a student from Germany, who gained 63% of the overall vote for his “Euro-leaf” logo.
